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FBI has given evidence to Pakistan, says report

London: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has given to Pakistan evidence it has amassed on the involvement of elements based in that country in the Mumbai terror attacks, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba handlers’ warning to the attackers about the arrival of Indian commandos while watching the mayhem live on TV, a media report here said on Sunday.

Stating that evidence is growing to prove that the strikes were orchestrated by militants based in Pakistan, The Sunday Times reported that Zarar Shah, a communications specialist of Lashkar, has admitted under interrogation in Pakistan, that he advised the terrorists over phone as the attacks unfolded. Controllers in Pakistan watched live television and warned the gunmen of the arrival of commandos, the report said, citing evidence amassed by the FBI and handed over to the Pakistan government.

The FBI had decoded Skype calls over the internet between the gunmen in the two five-star hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai with their Lashkar controllers in Pakistan, identified as Shah, Abu Hamza and Abu Qafa, it said.

Talking in colloquial Punjabi, the controllers repeatedly told the attackers “Aag lagao” (“set on fire”), which has been interpreted in India as a way of maximising casualties, the paper said.

During the conversation, the men were also instructed to kill all the Israelis held captive in the Jewish hostel, but to spare all the Muslims, it said.

Shah revealed that the 10 assailants were trained in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and then travelled by boat from Karachi to Mumbai. He implicated several other Lashkar men. According to the report, Islamabad rejected the alleged FBI evidence and dismissed India’s contention of close ties between Lashkar and the ISI. — PTI

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